Moving On

I have had a wonderful stay in Kathmandu and have had a life-changing experience here. However, it has run it's course and I have made plans to leave here on Tuesday. I will be making a short foray into India, starting in Varanasi and ending in Delhi. The plan is to stop in Agra along the way to check out the Taj Mahal. I am then embarking on a month-long tour of Tibet which I'm very much looking forward to. The tour includes a pilgrimage to Mt. Kailash which is a very holy place for Buddhists and Hindus. Both Buddhists and Hindus make a pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime and the Hindus consider it the home of Lord Shiva. Like other pilgrims, we will circumambulate the mountain in a clockwise direction.

I am heading into India largely because I need to get out of Nepal for a while. I am still hoping that I can do one more trek here this fall, following the Tibet trip. Nepal doesn't allow tourists to be in the country for more than 150 days per calendar year and when I leave next week it will be very close to 120 days for me. I need to leave the remaining 30 days for the trek and transit through Nepal to and from Tibet. I haven't firmed up any plans for the trek yet, but I'm really hoping I can make it happen.

Frankly, I'm kind of glad it has worked out this way. As I've mentioned before, India really terrifies me, so I think that a 2-week stint is a good way to test the waters and see if I can stomach further travel there in the future. If it turns out I can't, at least I will have seen the Taj and bathed in the Ganges.

I am meeting up with a British bloke named Wayne in India. I met him very briefly in Kathmandu about six weeks ago and we have been keeping in touch. I only spent a few hours with him and then he was leaving town, so it's a bit weird to be planning a fortnight with him. However, given the stories I've heard about and from women travelers in India, it's a real comfort to know I'll have male company there. Wayne certainly seems like a decent bloke and was a perfect gentleman when we met, so I have assume that his company will be a benefit rather than a liability. Still, I've never done anything like this before so it's all a bit strange to me. Wayne has been taking all my concerns in stride and given his sense of humour through all this, I think he'll be a good traveling companion. We also seem to have similar wants and needs regarding travel plans, so I'm hoping it will all work out well.

I think that internet is rather sporadic in India, but given that I'll be in largely major centres I should be able to keep in touch. Don't panic if I don't check in for a few days at a time. Tibet will be another story and I'm sure I won't have access to the internet outside of Lhasa, so it will be another month or so with no communication. I will be on an organized tour there and traveling in a group, so I'll be well looked after. I'll be in Kathmandu for a couple of days before I leave so I'll be sure to check in then.